A Delaware man who threatened a Black police officer with a pole attached to a Confederate battle flag as he stormed the US Capitol was sentenced on Thursday to three years in prison. Kevin Seefried, 53, tearfully apologized for his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot before US District Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced him. "I never wanted to send a message of hate," Seefried said. McFadden said it was deeply troubling that Seefried wielded the flagpole as a weapon against the officer, the AP reports. "Bringing a Confederate flag into one of our nation's most sacred halls was outrageous," the judge told him.
Justice Department prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of five years, 10 months for Seefried, a drywall installer from Laurel, Delaware. Seefried and his adult son, Hunter, stormed the Capitol together after attending the "Stop the Steal" rally, where then-President Donald Trump addressed thousands of supporters in Washington. Kevin Seefried was the 12th rioter to set foot inside the building that day, prosecutors said. In October, McFadden sentenced Hunter Seefried to two years of imprisonment. Widely published photographs showed Kevin Seefried carrying his Confederate flag inside the Capitol after he and his son, then 22, entered the building through a broken window.
"I never meant to send a message of hate," Kevin Seefried said in court, per the Washington Post. FBI agents said they did not find any evidence linking him or his son to far-right extremist groups. Seefried is ashamed that many may view him as a racist, his lawyers said in a court filing. Within a minute of entering the building, Kevin Seefried jabbed his flagpole at Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman and joined other rioters in chasing the officer up a flight of stairs, a harrowing scene captured on video. McFadden convicted the father and son of riot-related charges in June. The judge found both guilty of obstructing an official proceeding, the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress for certifying President Biden's 2020 electoral victory.
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